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OS Information

CentOS is a community-supported operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It exists to provide a free enterprise class computing platform and strives to maintain 100% binary compatibility with its upstream distribution. The product is largely composed of software packages distributed under open source licenses, and the source code for these packages is made public by Red Hat. CentOS developers use Red Hat's source code to create a final product very similar to Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Red Hat's branding and logos are changed because Red Hat does not allow them to be redistributed. CentOS is available free of charge. Technical support is primarily provided by the community via official mailing lists, web forums, and chat rooms. The project is not affiliated with Red Hat and thus receives no financial or logistical support from the company. Instead, the CentOS Project relies on donations from users and organizational sponsors.